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A New York VC Spotlight: Eric Hippeau - AlleyWatch
Eric Hippeau, Managing Director at Lerer Ventures in New York City, has successfully transitioned from publishing to investing. He worked at International Data Group as publisher of InfoWorld Ma -
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Startup America joins forces with Startup Weekend to form Up Global. More info here. -
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It's easy to get distracted by what seems to be important in the world of entrepreneurship. We find ourselves talking about what we're doing when we should be talking about, and acting on, why we're doing it. -
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Building startups is tough. As founders, we always have hundred issues in tens of categories on our todo lists. That’s stressful. It seems we have to finish those hundred tasks immediately or the world will crash. So we multitask, shuffle and hustle. Quite often, it drives us crazy. I’ve had many of such days when [...] -
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We thought this might be something that would be of interest and a fit for the startup community. I'm not exactly sure of the process to post these? Thank you for your help! https://www.traklight.com/blog/so-your-spouse-is-a-founder.html So your Spouse is a Founder... Guest Blog by Philip Juetten on Monday, May 13, 2013 I was sitting in the company bullpen “working” away while our CEO and Director of Client Engagement were discussing strategy on a lead they were pursuing, when all of a sudden I was interrupted and asked point blank if my blog was completed because it was due today! My only defense was to act as if I knew nothing about it and quickly the response from my CEO (Mary Juetten BCOM, CA, CPA, JD, and who knows what else!) was that the email directive could be resent to me. I asked if she really wanted me to write a Blog about being married to an Entrepreneur and Start-Up founder! I wanted to finish the sentence with “you can’t handle the truth” but I thought I had pushed it far enough. My name is Philip Juetten, so here I go. I will share with you my Top 8 Topics you should think about during your daily routine all while your significant other is in the midst of their start-up adventure - no specific order as some may rank higher for some and lower for others. Topic 1 – They need your approval and moral support. You must be their biggest fan and provide unending reassurance. You must be the cheerleader. Remember that they love you and want your approval and even the smallest bit of perceived negativity can cause them to question their efforts followed by a potential tornado which won’t end well for either of you. Topic 2 - Listen, Listen, Listen and do not solve! Suggestions are better. Allow them to completely drain their brain of their thoughts about an issue and then provide advice. Remember they likely know the business better than you so being a “know it all” is not good either, so no problem asking questions as you provide advice and weaving your way through it. Objectivity is key because if you are not honest you are doing them a disservice; remember Topic 1 above and frame your thoughts. Topic 3 – Remember that as with everything in life, timing is everything. Their schedule is grueling and unending and even the most trivial question/issue may come at the wrong time and derail a valuable train of thought creating ramp down and ramp up time they cannot afford. If you see they are busy, let them know that you would like to discuss something at the next convenient time. Do not get upset about being put off, simply do something constructive and let them know it is all ok and can wait. Topic 4 - Unless you are already independently wealthy, they likely will be bootstrapping the start-up and you definitely will have competing agendas for you’re your personal finances. Talk about personal finance, reference Topic 3 above, and be open and honest and come to an agreed level of personal funding and stick to it – remember things are dynamic and things change so be ready. Stay one step ahead of things - the best thing you can do for them is to have a handle on your personal finances so they do not need to worry about it, they have enough to worry about. And be realistic! Topic 5 – Remember that they are the boss of the start-up and you are a supporter. This may be hard depending on the mix of your professional role in your job and your personality. In our case we both are MEGA Type A personalities and I need to actively turn off my work (boss) personality when working on company projects, Mary is the CEO. Topic 6 – Do not forget that you are married and need to spend special time together – yes, date. Refer to Topic 3 above and schedule special time to go have some fun times. Topic 7 – Laptops, Ipads, IPhones, and BlackBerrys. Get used to them, no holds barred when it comes to networking and communication. The bottom line is networking and communication with business associates is essential to the start-up life. Find other things to do when that important phone call comes in or that important email must be responded to. With that said, you own the time in Topic 6 so set an agreed time and make them go off the grid, no rebuttal. They will thank you for it. Topic 8 – The start-up arena has no room for jealously in any manner, professional or otherwise. Remember you are a team and they are doing it for one single reason – to make a better life for your family together. Regardless of your history as a couple, you must operate on blind faith and trust. I could probably sit and come up with more but these are some of the biggies that pop to mind while sitting down and pounding out my assigned project to meet my Friday deadline! My only advice is that being the significant other of a start-up entrepreneur or founder is not the easiest role but can definitely be rewarding if you embrace the challenge together. Come on it is fun, and so is bungee jumping off the Stratosphere in Las Vegas☺! Note from Mary: This was done on Friday when I got home but it was too late to post because I had pushed back coming home 5 times but then Daniel Tyre from Hubspot dropped in and that was too much fun to leave... Jill HowardAllen Client Engagement *TRAKLIGHT* jhowardallen@traklight.com <mejuetten@traklight.com> *I* 602.803.0566 *I* 275 N. Gateway Drive, Ste 120 Phoenix, AZ 85034 Identify. Protect. Succeed. Traklight.com
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When building their early teams, a lot of entrepreneurs start with the titles in defining the role. Here is a short guide about how to define the role you really want with titles that allow your team to grow. -
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Indy's Bad Ass Startup Chick Denver Hutt has been diagnosed with cancer. She wants to remind all entrepreneurs we're entrepreneurs not super heroes. Take care of yourselves. -
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Brittany Fitzpatrick, founder of MentorMe and the other Seed Hatchery startups drew a global audience for Seed Hatchery's investor day in Memphis last week.- Like
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Ford (sexism). Hyundai (suicide). Mountain Dew (racism). Ads are upsetting folk lately. -
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From AppGratis-gate, to the pull out of the Bang With Friends app, Apple's App Store has been no stranger to the limelight in 2013. -
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Last week, my partners and I in The CISO Group invested as lifetime members in Caffeine Spaces, a new co-working space that opened in the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) R&D Park here in Boca Raton, Florida. Caffeine Spaces is the brainchild of Mark Laymon, who is seeking to build a strong startup community here in South Florida. My friend Brad Feld has spent a good chunk of his time for the last few years advocating for startup communities around the world. His Startup Revolution site is the place to learn about and participate in building startup communities. Brad is the person who started me in blogging 8 or 9 years ago. I have been watching what he has done in Boulder (my previous employer, StillSecure, was based in Boulder and Brad was a board member and Mobius VC was and still is lead investor), with TechStars and with Startup Communities closely for years. I really wanted to see if I could help foster that kind of critical mass of entrepreneurship here in my area.- Like
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WAYNE SUTTON: Having a great mentor can ultimately lead to the success of an entrepreneur. Most successful entrepreneurs -- myself included -- can tell you stories about how their mentors played a strategic role in their journey. ... -
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When a startup stars to become successful - and outgrows its all-hands-on-deck philosophy - the founder's job is to make sure that the company can properly scale to cope with the new reality.- Like
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Little pieces of creativity. -
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My last blog discussed the lean startup and how to plan the funding of your new startup company. When it comes to raising money to fund your startup, sources can include institutional investors (VCs), angel investors or friends and family. Unless you’re bootstrapping your startup - which comes with its [...]- Like
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Middle class problems? More like upper-middle class problems? AMIRITE? Music: https://soundcloud.com/lowercasen/late-nights Teddy Has An Operation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdYaTa_lOf4 99 Years Bad Luck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdz6Y3VyYPE How Much Food Can You Get For $5 Around The World http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dS8qjJ4lQ0 Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpko_-a4wgz2u_DgDgd9fqA?sub_confirmation=1 -
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What to Look for When Backing a Founding Team - AlleyWatch
Whether experienced entrepreneurs, successful executives from a previous start-up, rock star developers from a technology bellwether or hungry, scrappy, determined newcomers looking to change the worl -
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Job creation is important, but ultimately it is economic growth that is of central concern. A growing economy yields the increased wealth that provides higher living standards.- Like
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The line between insanity and entrepreneurship is razor thin (and at times, non-existent).  Envisioning a world that no one else sees can accurately describe both camps.  In order to construct this new reality, entrepreneurs are often forfeiting a 9-5 job, steady paycheck, and comfortable living quarters in the process, while their version of “normal” is anything but. When...